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Brat’s tale: Frank McNally on the curious evolution of the Irish word for ‘flag’

Brat’s tale: Frank McNally on the curious evolution of the Irish word for ‘flag’

How ‘brat’ worked its way down in the world

Wed Jul 29 2020 - 20:00
Sole rebel: Frank McNally on the joys of running in bare feet

Sole rebel: Frank McNally on the joys of running in bare feet

It’s as if we think of our feet as footwear in themselves, which they are

Tue Jul 28 2020 - 20:00
Thermidorian Conditions Apply – Frank McNally on the lingering influence of a revolutionary month

Thermidorian Conditions Apply – Frank McNally on the lingering influence of a revolutionary month

Fri Jul 24 2020 - 19:45
Red in the Head – Frank McNally on Ireland’s strange love affair with English football clubs

Red in the Head – Frank McNally on Ireland’s strange love affair with English football clubs

Thu Jul 23 2020 - 19:30
The Leaving of Limerick – Frank McNally on Robert Graves’s uneasy relationship with his ancestral city

The Leaving of Limerick – Frank McNally on Robert Graves’s uneasy relationship with his ancestral city

Wed Jul 22 2020 - 19:01
Joining the Heard – Frank McNally on how Ireland became an international success story (told by us)

Joining the Heard – Frank McNally on how Ireland became an international success story (told by us)

Tue Jul 21 2020 - 19:45
Four-Dimensional Green Fields – Frank McNally on unified field theory, de Valera’s Ireland, and a new GAA club in Belfast

Four-Dimensional Green Fields – Frank McNally on unified field theory, de Valera’s Ireland, and a new GAA club in Belfast

Fri Jul 17 2020 - 19:01
Field of Dreams – Frank McNally on the heady days when Jack Charlton’s Ireland turned up in his back garden (or near enough)

Field of Dreams – Frank McNally on the heady days when Jack Charlton’s Ireland turned up in his back garden (or near enough)

Wed Jul 15 2020 - 19:01
Poetic Licence (Provisional) – Frank McNally on the woes of Mary Kenny and Barry Cowen

Poetic Licence (Provisional) – Frank McNally on the woes of Mary Kenny and Barry Cowen

Tue Jul 14 2020 - 19:30
Jack Charlton’s own grievances endeared him to Irish fans

Jack Charlton’s own grievances endeared him to Irish fans

‘He was the sporting father figure we needed - and wore a peaked cap, like our actual fathers’

Sat Jul 11 2020 - 18:48
Here Comes the Bridey – Frank McNally on an Irishwoman’s reincarnation in 1950s America

Here Comes the Bridey – Frank McNally on an Irishwoman’s reincarnation in 1950s America

Fri Jul 10 2020 - 19:20
Lockdown locks down – Frank McNally on the return of male hairdressing

Lockdown locks down – Frank McNally on the return of male hairdressing

Thu Jul 09 2020 - 19:15
Horse Sense – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of Epsom

Horse Sense – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of Epsom

Wed Jul 08 2020 - 19:05
Dimly lit interior? Frank McNally on the notion that midlanders may be below sea-level, in more ways than one

Dimly lit interior? Frank McNally on the notion that midlanders may be below sea-level, in more ways than one

Tue Jul 07 2020 - 18:35
Saving Face – Frank McNally on having a mild case of prosopagnosia

Saving Face – Frank McNally on having a mild case of prosopagnosia

Fri Jul 03 2020 - 19:15
The Full Monte – Frank McNally on tackling a 1,100-page classic of lockdown reading

The Full Monte – Frank McNally on tackling a 1,100-page classic of lockdown reading

Thu Jul 02 2020 - 19:15
Two-Story Building – Frank McNally on a classic of 20th-century Irish architecture, foreshadowed by James Joyce

Two-Story Building – Frank McNally on a classic of 20th-century Irish architecture, foreshadowed by James Joyce

Wed Jul 01 2020 - 19:40
Arts and minds – Frank McNally on the uneasy relationship between Irish politics and art

Arts and minds – Frank McNally on the uneasy relationship between Irish politics and art

Tue Jun 30 2020 - 19:15
Begob and Begorrah – Frank McNally on a red-letter week for Hiberno-English swear words

Begob and Begorrah – Frank McNally on a red-letter week for Hiberno-English swear words

Sat Jun 27 2020 - 09:53
Name and R-Number – Frank McNally on typos, tour guides, unusual baby names, and digging up the Hill of Tara

Name and R-Number – Frank McNally on typos, tour guides, unusual baby names, and digging up the Hill of Tara

Fri Jun 26 2020 - 00:01
Blood on the tracks –Frank McNally on the Connaught Rangers Mutiny

Blood on the tracks –Frank McNally on the Connaught Rangers Mutiny

Wed Jun 24 2020 - 18:30
Italia 90: Returning from a squat in London to a new Dublin

Italia 90: Returning from a squat in London to a new Dublin

Frank McNally: Memories of Dublin pubs, chippers and pre-scrappage-scheme cars

Wed Jun 24 2020 - 06:00
Digging Deep in Dublin – Frank McNally on a dingy alley’s exotic origins and the strange story of an artist who mailed himself

Digging Deep in Dublin – Frank McNally on a dingy alley’s exotic origins and the strange story of an artist who mailed himself

Wed Jun 24 2020 - 00:01
A midsummer like no other, with a nod to St John and flash of Star Trek

A midsummer like no other, with a nod to St John and flash of Star Trek

An Irishman’s Diary with the theme of a classic Irish ballad for this time of year

Sat Jun 20 2020 - 20:01
How you can share in Patrick Kavanagh’s isolation at Inniskeen this year

How you can share in Patrick Kavanagh’s isolation at Inniskeen this year

Frank McNally: Refurbished Kavanagh centre due to have a low-key opening in July

Thu Jun 18 2020 - 20:01
Zoom and Bloom: How I tried to fill Pete Buttigieg’s shoes on Bloomsday

Zoom and Bloom: How I tried to fill Pete Buttigieg’s shoes on Bloomsday

Frank McNally: On a Ulysses talk that brought him virtually from Phoenix Park to New York

Wed Jun 17 2020 - 20:01
Royal flush: Frank McNally plumbs the depths of Ascot, Bloomsday and GBS

Royal flush: Frank McNally plumbs the depths of Ascot, Bloomsday and GBS

Irish writers have done more to promote Royal Ascot, surely, than English writers ever did

Tue Jun 16 2020 - 20:01
A day to mark Anthony – Frank McNally on middle-aged running, the Mafia, and the enduring cult of an Italian saint

A day to mark Anthony – Frank McNally on middle-aged running, the Mafia, and the enduring cult of an Italian saint

Fri Jun 12 2020 - 19:15
Glossed in translation – Frank McNally on ambivalent statues, Flann O’Brien rebranded, and the plan to move Nelson’s Pillar

Glossed in translation – Frank McNally on ambivalent statues, Flann O’Brien rebranded, and the plan to move Nelson’s Pillar

Thu Jun 11 2020 - 18:45
And the man became word – Frank McNally on the nicotine-stained history of eponyms

And the man became word – Frank McNally on the nicotine-stained history of eponyms

Wed Jun 10 2020 - 18:40
Unfit to Plinth? – Frank McNally on Ireland’s uneasy – and sometimes violent – relationship with statues

Unfit to Plinth? – Frank McNally on Ireland’s uneasy – and sometimes violent – relationship with statues

Tue Jun 09 2020 - 19:15
Paris on a shoestring – Frank McNally on James Joyce, TS Eliot, and the art of revenge hospitality

Paris on a shoestring – Frank McNally on James Joyce, TS Eliot, and the art of revenge hospitality

Fri Jun 05 2020 - 19:30
View from the Gods – Frank McNally on how the pandemic has been a golden age of balconies

View from the Gods – Frank McNally on how the pandemic has been a golden age of balconies

Fri Jun 05 2020 - 00:01
From Leningrad to Louth – Frank McNally on a little piece of Ireland that is forever Russia

From Leningrad to Louth – Frank McNally on a little piece of Ireland that is forever Russia

Wed Jun 03 2020 - 19:01
A Man You Could Count On – Frank McNally on Richard Taaffe, aka ‘Uncle Yaxy’, who brought Austrian imperial secrets to Dublin

A Man You Could Count On – Frank McNally on Richard Taaffe, aka ‘Uncle Yaxy’, who brought Austrian imperial secrets to Dublin

Tue Jun 02 2020 - 18:45
A year with an R in it – Frank McNally on a consonant with a colourful history

A year with an R in it – Frank McNally on a consonant with a colourful history

Fri May 29 2020 - 19:01
Dating Game – Frank McNally on writers getting their datelines crossed, from Joyce to Elmore Leonard

Dating Game – Frank McNally on writers getting their datelines crossed, from Joyce to Elmore Leonard

Thu May 28 2020 - 19:15
Blarney Barney – Frank McNally on a tale of two euphemisms

Blarney Barney – Frank McNally on a tale of two euphemisms

Wed May 27 2020 - 19:01
Play It Again, Dom – Frank McNally on the strange echoes of a Planxty classic in Britain’s latest scandal

Play It Again, Dom – Frank McNally on the strange echoes of a Planxty classic in Britain’s latest scandal

Tue May 26 2020 - 19:38
Cordon Sanitaire – Frank McNally on lockdowns, lazarettos, and the Plague Wall of Provence

Cordon Sanitaire – Frank McNally on lockdowns, lazarettos, and the Plague Wall of Provence

Fri May 22 2020 - 19:35
Butte Cavan Man – Frank McNally on the colourful history of corporate branding, Cavan-style

Butte Cavan Man – Frank McNally on the colourful history of corporate branding, Cavan-style

Thu May 21 2020 - 19:15
High spirits – Frank McNally on the Phoenix Park dolmen and the ghost of Knockmaree Hill

High spirits – Frank McNally on the Phoenix Park dolmen and the ghost of Knockmaree Hill

Wed May 20 2020 - 19:15
Oh Stony Grey Soil of Montparnasse – Frank McNally on culture, curve-flattening, and carrying on in a crisis

Oh Stony Grey Soil of Montparnasse – Frank McNally on culture, curve-flattening, and carrying on in a crisis

Fri May 15 2020 - 19:01
A Tale of Two Cities – Frank McNally on Brendan Behan, the IRA’s 1939 campaign, and the other Fontenoy Street

A Tale of Two Cities – Frank McNally on Brendan Behan, the IRA’s 1939 campaign, and the other Fontenoy Street

Thu May 14 2020 - 19:15
Gladbach tidings – Frank McNally welcomes the return of German football while still pining for Gaelic Games

Gladbach tidings – Frank McNally welcomes the return of German football while still pining for Gaelic Games

Wed May 13 2020 - 19:30
Famous Fontenoy – Frank McNally on an overshadowed anniversary of the Irish Brigade’s finest hour

Famous Fontenoy – Frank McNally on an overshadowed anniversary of the Irish Brigade’s finest hour

Tue May 12 2020 - 19:15
Hard of hearing – Frank McNally on why he hates the sight of headphones

Hard of hearing – Frank McNally on why he hates the sight of headphones

Fri May 08 2020 - 19:15
All quiet on the smallpox front – Frank McNally on a major milestone in medical history

All quiet on the smallpox front – Frank McNally on a major milestone in medical history

Thu May 07 2020 - 19:01
Bittersweet surrender – Frank McNally on the Irishwoman airbrushed out of a wartime victory portrait

Bittersweet surrender – Frank McNally on the Irishwoman airbrushed out of a wartime victory portrait

Thu May 07 2020 - 00:01
Great Irish Wake-Off – Frank McNally on a global reading of James Joyce’s most difficult book

Great Irish Wake-Off – Frank McNally on a global reading of James Joyce’s most difficult book

Tue May 05 2020 - 19:20
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